Alexithymia, Inner Thinking Patterns, and Perceptions of Mental Health Therapy Strategies Among Autistic Adults.
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| Title: | Alexithymia, Inner Thinking Patterns, and Perceptions of Mental Health Therapy Strategies Among Autistic Adults. |
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| Authors: | Mazurek, Micah O. (AUTHOR), Pappagianopoulos, Jessica (AUTHOR), Brunt, Sophie (AUTHOR), Menezes, Michelle (AUTHOR), Smith, Jessica V. (AUTHOR), Howard, Mya (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders. Apr2026, Vol. 56 Issue 4, p1370-1381. 12p. |
| Subjects: | Cross-sectional method, Therapeutics, Research funding, Mental health, Cronbach's alpha, Data analysis, Autism, Alexithymia, Questionnaires, Logistic regression analysis, Mindfulness, Kruskal-Wallis Test, Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U Test, Attitude (Psychology), Mind & body therapies, Breathing exercises, Self-talk, Surveys, Attitudes toward mental illness, Meditation, Research, Statistics, Psychometrics, Asperger's syndrome, User-centered system design, Thought & thinking, Cognition, Verbal behavior, Muscle contraction, Nonparametric statistics, Adults |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Autistic adults are at high risk for mental health challenges, yet there has been limited research on mental health interventions for this population. Individual differences in how thoughts and emotions are perceived may directly relate to the success of specific therapy strategies. This study examined whether alexithymia and inner thinking patterns relate to helpfulness and ease of use of mental health therapy strategies among autistic adults. Method: Participants (n = 269 autistic adults, ages 21–77) completed questionnaires assessing alexithymia, inner thinking patterns (i.e., self-talk, verbal thinking, visual thinking), and experiences with mental health therapy strategies. Ordinal logistic regressions were used to examine associations between alexithymia, inner thinking, and perceived helpfulness and ease of use of therapy strategies. Results: Autistic adults with greater alexithymia found cognitive strategies more difficult to use, while those with greater frequency of self-talk found them easier to use. By contrast, autistic adults with greater visual thinking found guided imagery strategies easier to use. There were no associations between alexithymia or inner thinking and perceived helpfulness or ease of use of behavioral strategies (exposure, behavioral activation), mind–body relaxation strategies (deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation), or mindfulness meditation. Conclusions: The findings suggest that some mental health strategies may be more difficult to implement for some autistic adults, depending on individual thinking profiles. However, alexithymia and inner thinking patterns were unrelated to the perceived helpfulness of mental health strategies. Overall, this highlights the importance of providing individualized supports and accommodations to optimize mental health therapy for autistic adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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